Alexandra Purnell needed a breath of air from the pleasure of the ballroom she had attended. If truth be known, she would have preferred a solitary walk in the garden but the moment she stepped outside into the chilly night air, someone grabs hold of her and immediately sweeps her faraway from the ballroom.

Edmund Raine, Earl of Amberley is a sensual man in every aspect. Upon finding Alexandra in his home, under unusual circumstances, he feels that he must make amends and save her virtue before rumors get too far out of hand.

It was only a little joke that did not involve Alexandra, but she just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time when she is being carted away in the dark hours of the night. When she learns that she has been taken to the home of the ravishing Edmund, she can only hope to be caressed and loved by the handsome man. Yet he is a man she must avoid. Edmund cannot get over the shock of finding a bound woman in his home when he arrives from spending the night with his mistress. What began as a little game turns into a love that she never imagined. When Edmund proffers marriage, Alexandra is drawn off guard. Of course, Edmund is a much better candidate than the much older man she is promised to marry still she prefers her freedom. Edmund can be very persuasive she soon learns. He disturbs her with his charming manners and his smiling blue eyes. She finds him an honorable gentleman and with every gaze into his eyes, she feels she is drowning. Besides, the marriage is only out of obligation and nothing more, then again, what if she were wrong? Edmund finds her a lovely woman; different in her own way and with marriage she would be the mother of his children. As they continue to dwell over their present situation, each day apart only furthers the love they feel for the other.

The Gilded Web breathes sweet romance with a passion that weaves in this story. I could feel the sensations that stir around Alexandra and Edmund from the first moment he finds her in his home. Alexandra reminds me of a young woman who desires to be strong and dependent but inside has that childlike demure that only Edmund can bring out in her making her a mature woman. Their friendship begins slow and steady then forms into a love that is full of meaning. Ms. Balogh pens a fantastic read of an arrangement to a woman that heads into a marriage, they soon discover, not really by choice, to find love everlasting. She blends soothing warmth that carries this reader throughout the story like a gentle babbling brook drifting along in a tranquil steady movement. This reader found this story breathtakingly awesome.

Cherokee
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books